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Toll charges at Second Link may be revised to ease congestion at Causeway: Najib

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak, left, and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, laugh as they speak at a joint press conference during the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat at the Istana or presidential palace in Singapore, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Yong Teck Lim)
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak, left, and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, laugh as they speak at a joint press conference during the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat at the Istana or presidential palace in Singapore, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Yong Teck Lim)

Malaysia will consider revising toll charges at the Second Link in a bid to make the bridge more attractive to users and also reduce congestion at the Woodlands Causeway, said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday (16 January).

“We are attracted to (the) proposal by PM (Lee) Hsien Loong that we could perhaps review the toll at the Second Link to make it more attractive for people to use the Second Link. Something that we will take back…hopefully we will be able to agree to a decision as soon as possible,” said the Malaysian leader.

Najib was speaking on Tuesday (16 January) at a joint press conference with Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana, following the end of the 8th annual Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat.

Earlier in the day, the two leaders signed a bilateral agreement on the 4km Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, which will run from Woodlands North station to Bukit Chagar station in Johor. The RTS Link, which is slated to complete by 2024, will carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

While the RTS will eventually provide “seamless connectivity”, Najib said that he had raised the need to address the current congestion at the Causeway. Citing a media report, he added that there are over 300,000 crossings per day at the Causeway, with people from both sides having to wait up to three to four hours to cross.